Nov 20, 2009

I used to think that the Beatles were just sappy; every song had the word LOVE in it. All You Need Is Love, She Loves You, And I Love Her, If I Fell In Love with you…

And looking back, those somewhat innocent days of love (despite the wars) and hope, despite the trauma of the generations seem to have gone unfilled by anything remotely satisfying.

These days dark is in and darker is better, and that is a reference to the theme of our entertainment and music and not a reflection of our cultural identity, race or any of that stuff. I like that there is a Black president, let alone an articulate and intelligent one (for a change) even when I do not agree with his policies. He has restored some hope that things can change, certainly in the limitations that formerly governed us absolutely; race has always been a divisive issue in America and I suspect that it always will be, although one can always hope otherwise. There is too much ignorance and too much hatred for anything to change on a grand scale, from all sides, even while the rest of the world makes better strides towards that goal.

Hope is in scarce supply. We use the term carelessly and the power behind the word seems to have become as gratuitous as “have a nice day.”

What do we hope for? A better economy? A safer world? That our children do not get H1N1? I’m not sure what to hope for. I find that as I see the darker days I miss the simpler times when I did not have to do more for less and always compromise. I miss being able to say “I’m right” every once in a while without having to acknowledge everyone else’s special needs. I am tired of apologizing for the less of others. I am tired of believing that in order to succeed in America I have to be at the level of the lowest life form sucking the life out of the coffers because to do anything else makes me stuck up, a snob, an elitist or some other word most of the populace can’t spell let alone understand.

Hope means thinking that tomorrow will be brighter than today. Hope means knowing that you can sacrifice a little longer in the promise of better ahead. Hope means knowing that you stand a good shot at getting old without some thug shooting you for wearing a color scheme they picked or just looking at them the wrong way.

When I look at students in school struggling with the budget cuts that have robbed them of services, when I see teachers and others in the community struggling to make ends meet, people losing their homes, it is all a loss of hope for our time that has become our theme song and certainly something for which our generation will be remembered poorly.

It is time to start playing those old Beatle songs out loud. Perhaps, with enough play, we may come to believe it once again. We certainly can’t be any worse for wear.

Nov 8, 2009

If you are like me then you are sick and tired of prisoner rights! Tell me why it is that when you break the law they send you to the country clubs of the prison system where you get to watch television, movies, get the most expensive medical care in the world (see my earlier post about what prison dentists and psychiatrists are paid HERE) and abuse the legal system wherever possible. Worse – none of the prison sentences are valid. Life imprisonment does not mean you are in prison for the rest of your life. We keep letting them out early. Why?

So as part of my plan to save the country, I think we need to make prisons totally, 100 percent pedal powered. Get the prisoners on stationery electricity generating bicycles all day long in order to power their televisions and cooking, and then siphon off the excess electricity for use on the open market. It would be the modern equivalent of the chain gang building roads.

Since we do not want to give prisoners dangerous weapons in prison, having them pedal all day long would serve to tire them out, keep them trim and healthy, avoid those moments when they could gather and plot against the system, as well as giving some electricity back to the state.